Episode 305: An Ordinary, Unremarkable Next-Door Old Man, OR a Legendary Pirate of the Ocean?
『 The next scene.
A towering wave suddenly erupted from the center of the sea, shooting straight into the clouds, reaching a height of a hundred meters.
Within the wave, a ship covered in a massive, transparent dome suddenly emerged. The vessel's colors were vibrant, looking just like the mount of a legendary god!
A transparent dome?
Could that layer really be a transparent dome?
The Marines stared at the giant monster before them, completely dumbfounded.
"The Moby Dick has arrived!"
After drawing a semicircle in the air, the massive ship slammed heavily onto the sea's surface.
This scene left the Marines staring with their mouths agape. Despite having set up layer upon layer of defenses outside and dispatching so many ships on patrol, the enemy had still easily broken through!
"Whoa!"
"Whitebeard and the others are really here!"
Ace opened his mouth to say something, but his throat felt as if it were blocked, and he couldn't make a sound.
His emotions were too complex for words!
Crack…
A crisp sound rang out.
The transparent dome coating the outside of the Moby Dick suddenly shattered, revealing its true appearance.
At the bow.
"Gurararara…"
"Gurgle, gurgle…"
There, a robust figure appeared. Although his face could not yet be clearly seen, his unrivaled aura alone was enough to let everyone know who he was.
Compared to the Giant Marines from earlier, he did not pale in comparison at all.
He wore his iconic white coat, held a buzzing naginata, and sported a long, crescent-shaped, silvery-white mustache on his face.
He let out a peculiar laugh, his mouth moving as he spoke: "It's been a few decades since we last met, Sengoku!"
Sengoku also called him by his name, his tone filled with a combat-ready edge: "Whitebeard!"
"My beloved son, nothing better happen to him while he's with you!"
Compared to Sengoku's tense demeanor, Whitebeard appeared much more relaxed.
His greeting was as casual as old friends catching up, as if Ace wasn't currently pinned down awaiting execution, but was instead visiting them as a guest!
The camera suddenly gave a close-up of Whitebeard's front, revealing his extremely muscular physique.
His upper body was only draped in a white coat with no other clothing underneath. His muscles were exceptionally developed, and the scars left from the past stood out like medals of honor.
The Marines were utterly astonished!
They hadn't expected the fierce-looking old man up there to be Whitebeard.
Although his appearance was somewhat intimidating, he looked like a very tall elderly man, not nearly as dangerous as the rumors suggested. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Keqing (Genshin Impact): "Is this the highly dangerous Whitebeard they were talking about earlier?" ]
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "He feels like the grandpa next door, just… big. Big in every sense of the word." ]
[ Whitebeard (One Piece): "Gurararara!" ]
[ Whitebeard (One Piece): "This is indeed me. So, does anyone want to be my son? A daughter is fine too." ]
[ Everyone: ??? ]
[ .....]
『 Although Whitebeard wasn't as overbearing as everyone had imagined, and at first glance, aside from his clothing and height, he actually looked quite ordinary, even sharing some similarities with Sengoku opposite him.
His aura was powerful, yet in terms of raw presence, he didn't even seem to match the three Marine Admirals.
But no one dared to underestimate him. Even his old rival, Sengoku, had a look of shock on his face at this moment, sweating profusely and his mouth trembling.
After not seeing him for so many years, Whitebeard's appearance still brought immense pressure to him!
At the Gates of Justice—
Buggy's ship slowly passed through the massive Gates of Justice, and everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
"We finally made it through. What I care about most right now is whether your old man will show up!"
Hearing this, Luffy froze for a moment, looking in confusion at the guy whose head was almost as big as his body, and asked, utterly bewildered: "My father?"
Ivankov added in a low voice: "His own son is about to be executed. How could Dragon stand by? He will definitely come."
In his view, Dragon would definitely show up.
Luffy explained with a smile, "Ace and I don't have the same dad. My dad is Dragon, but Ace's dad is the Pirate King, Roger!"
Ivankov was temporarily struck speechless.
"So my dad is that amazing, but I've never met him. But whatever, make sure you don't tell Ace about this; he's still kept in the dark!"
....
Whitebeard looked at Ace on the execution platform, his eyes filled with concern as he said softly: "Don't be impatient, Ace!"
Ace hadn't spoken much since his appearance, but upon seeing Whitebeard, he finally couldn't hold back.
"Pops!"
At this moment, Whitebeard crossed his arms over his chest, his head lowering slightly.
Neither the pirates nor the Marines present knew what he was preparing.
His coat made a faint rustling sound, which was particularly noticeable in the silence.
A moment later.
Whitebeard suddenly smiled, forcefully swinging his arms out to both sides.
What on earth was he doing?
Was he showing off his muscles?
There was clearly nothing but empty air around him!
While everyone was still completely baffled, something jaw-dropping occurred.
The space where Whitebeard swung his fists began to make a cracking sound, and then, like a shattered glass cup, white fractures appeared in the air.
At first, it was just a few fine lines, but as time passed, these lines gradually spread out!
"What's going on?"
"What on earth is that?"
The Marine soldiers in the very front row had puzzled looks on their faces, as if watching a strange magic trick, and asked: "What is this situation?"
"I don't get it. Is it glass?"
"Idiot, why would there be such a huge sheet of transparent glass on a ship?"
Another Marine next to him muttered, "It looks like the air itself is cracking."
That description was actually quite accurate.
Though a more fitting description would be that space itself was being torn apart!
At this moment, viewers from all over were deeply captivated by this scene.
As one of the focal points of this battle, Whitebeard had finally made his move!
Immediately after.
The entire sea shook violently.
The seawater on both sides of the island instantly surged hundreds of meters high. If this force were allowed to crash down, half the island would be destroyed. Facing such powerful natural energy, the hundred thousand Marines seemed completely defenseless!
"Not good!"
"How can this be? It's like a terrifying explosion went off at the bottom of the sea!"
"This height is too dangerous!"
"Run! I don't even know how to swim!"
Seeing the disastrous scene before him, Sengoku shouted, "Is it a seaquake? To think he could cause such a distortion in the sea!"
"This is the power of Whitebeard!"
Whitebeard continued to gather his strength, and the sea on both sides was forced up to a height of over a thousand meters, far exceeding the height of the island itself.
Once these two massive walls of water crashed down, the entire island and all the fleets would be unable to escape the fate of total annihilation!
Ace stared blankly at the scene before him.
A spark seemed to ignite in his eyes, as if he had returned to the moment he first met Whitebeard.
As the screen displayed Ace's memories, everyone saw that moment from the past.
Whitebeard looked slightly younger, standing before Ace like a mountain.
Ace, on the other hand, lay face down on the ground, as if he had lost all signs of life.
What was going on here?
Were the two of them trying to kill each other?
No, they didn't seem to know each other very well at this point. How did they end up as father and son?
With this massive question in mind, everyone watched on with great curiosity.
Suddenly, Ace's finger twitched slightly.
A look of surprise appeared on Whitebeard's face.
Ace raised his head and muttered in a low voice: "Truly amazing… the man who could fight on equal terms with that man!"
Ace clenched his fists, struggling to stand up.
"Oh? You can still get up?"
"It would be a pity to rush to your death now, young man!
"If you still have the energy to make a fuss, I'll give you a chance. Take my name and run wild in this world to your heart's content!"
Whitebeard extended a hand toward Ace.
With a hint of hope in his eyes, he said, "How about becoming my son?"
Ace was instantly dumbfounded.
Are you kidding me?
He loudly retorted: "Are you mocking me?!"
Become his son?
Wasn't that degrading himself?
Although many people chose to align themselves with the strong and acknowledge them as fathers to survive defeat, directly demanding that someone be their son was still extremely rare.
But from Whitebeard's eyes, it was clear he genuinely appreciated the young man before him.
Although Ace initially refused, as things developed, he not only accepted this identity but also established a deep bond with Whitebeard.
Add to that the fact that Whitebeard had personally come to rescue him despite the danger, and it showed that this Pops was highly worthy of respect!
The story about Ace continued to play.
Only then did everyone realize that Ace wasn't the only one called 'son'; almost everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates called him 'Pops.'
Ace had attempted to assassinate Whitebeard multiple times, trying many methods, but none succeeded.
To Ace, Whitebeard's strength was simply too overwhelming, causing even someone as strong-willed as him to feel despair.
Gradually, Ace bonded with the crew and even became the Second Division Commander.
One night, Ace approached Whitebeard and told him that he was Roger's son.
He originally thought it would cause resentment, but to his surprise, Whitebeard just laughed heartily and said nonchalantly, "Is that so? You really don't look like Roger's kid!"
"Aren't you two enemies? Aren't you going to kick me out?"
"Seeing how depressed you looked, I thought something major had happened!"
"No matter who your biological father is, on this sea, we are all children of the sea!" 』
『 .....』
〜One Piece World〜
Whitebeard looked at Ace's memories, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.
He did not regret taking Ace as his son. The various commanders below were also immersed in their own memories.
Even if they knew what would happen in the future, and had even foreseen a bad ending, if given another chance, they would still choose this path!
In the bar—
Ace smiled bitterly.
It was precisely because of the deep bond between him and his companions in the Whitebeard Pirates that he felt the joy of being a pirate. He never regretted joining the Whitebeard Pirates!
On the Going Merry—
Luffy and the others watched this scene in shock, utterly amazed!
So Ace had gone through so much on Whitebeard's ship. Luffy and the others deeply understood Ace's choice!
"So Ace went through so many things!"
Luffy fell into silence.
Nami said with a smile,
"Ace really found a great group of companions!"
In the Marine Base—
Garp was initially puzzled by Ace's decision and even felt a hint of dissatisfaction.
But seeing his life under Whitebeard, even though he fought against the Marines all day, at least he had found his own way of living.
Garp could accept it now.
As for his relentless pursuit of Blackbeard, Blackbeard's act of sacrificing a companion for power was something anyone would find repulsive. Ace had done nothing wrong!
—
〜Naruto World〜
"Ace is so cool!"
Naruto's eyes were full of admiration.
The moment he saw Blackbeard murder Thatch, his hands clenched into fists.
This scene left a deep impression on the young Naruto's mind, and it was the first time in his life that he felt such anger.
"This person is really too much!"
Sakura said softly.
Sasuke's eyes revealed a murderous intent, even if his future self…
—
『 "Back then, you clearly tried to stop me, but I stubbornly went anyway!"
"No, I was the one who sent you!"
Whitebeard looked at the man with the yellow pompadour hairstyle behind him and said, "Isn't that right?"
The man made a helpless gesture and said with a smile, "Yeah, everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates knows what happens to those who betray their friends!"
"Of course, if a companion is in trouble, we will never stand by and watch. We will absolutely never let anyone who harms you off the hook, Ace!"
"Marine Headquarters, get ready!"
At this moment, the pirates on the Moby Dick were extremely thrilled, shouting with excitement.
Above, Kizaru, one of the Three Admirals, still wore that half-joking, confident smile, but he now had a new perspective on these pirates.
"These guys are actually quite decent~"
Akainu said coldly, "What's the point of saying all this now?"
Below, Gecko Moria heard the shouting of these pirates, his dark, sharp hands trembling continuously as he laughed and said, "We have the Seven Warlords and the strongest forces of the Marines here. The Three Admirals, plus a hundred thousand elites, are all gathered. You only have forty ships. How can you possibly break through?"
Doflamingo licked his lips. Even though he wore sunglasses, he couldn't hide his inner excitement.
Boa Hancock looked around at these men, as if she were the only female on the entire battlefield.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted.
"An environment surrounded by so many smelly men is truly sickening. Men are just a bunch of filthy things, with only one exception!"
"You must stay safe, Luffy!"』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "Why does this big sister call him Luffy?" ]
[ Kaeya (Genshin Impact): "Indeed, it makes one ponder." ]
[ Gintoki Sakata (Gintama): "Me, me, me! I CAN DO IT TOO!!" ]
[ Hancock (One Piece): "...." ]
[ Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece): "???" ]
[ .....]
『 But right at this moment.
"Huh?" A Marine soldier controlling a cannon on the shore suddenly felt something was wrong. He looked at the water at the edge and found that the sea level was actually continuously dropping. What was going on?
Not only was the water level in the bay dropping, but even far, far away at the Gates of Justice, the ship Luffy was hiding on felt strange vibrations.
The ship, which was originally moving forward, could no longer advance. Instead, it was pushed backward by a reverse current.
The air also seemed to be continuously expanding outward, centered around the island.
"What's happening!"
"What on earth is going on?"
"Why is our ship moving backward?"
"I don't understand, but with such a strong wind and this reverse current, it's simply illogical!"
The people on the ship found it difficult to even stand steady. Some were directly blown down by the wind, while others desperately held onto fixtures on the deck, trying their best not to be blown away!
Even Buggy held onto the railing tightly, muttering: "What on earth happened? Wasn't it fine just a moment ago?"
Then, unable to support his body, Buggy let go of his grip and slammed heavily against the ship's wall in the wild wind.
Luffy tried hard to stabilize his position, muttering, "How can this be? We clearly need to get over there quickly!"
Jinbe's brow furrowed, his heart filled with shock: "This situation…"
Zooming out, it wasn't just this one ship that was affected. Almost the entire sea surface within a radius of a hundred kilometers was drawn in.
Under such oceanic force, humans appeared extremely small and powerless, completely losing control over their own destiny.
Suddenly.
The sea surface became calm again.
The people on the ship finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Buggy had previously thought he was being punished by heaven, feeling depressed all by himself, wondering if he really couldn't become the Pirate King in this lifetime.
Was he not the chosen one?
This doubt quickly dissipated.
What happened next made it seem as if the sea had completely changed.』
『 .....』